By Connor Abrams of 805 Agency
When times are good, you should advertise.
When times are bad, you must advertise.
Business owners love to cut down on expenses, especially marketing expenses, given how easy it is to cut overhead by eliminating an entire department. However, when taking the big picture into consideration, the decision to stop marketing can have massive repercussions on business operations.
Without marketing, sales will drop without the ability to funnel customers. Products and services will not have the same conversion rates, revenue will taper off, and the entire business structure will collapse like a house of cards.
So, should you just keep fueling your marketing campaigns no matter what? No, you should practice efficient marketing instead of throwing money into customer acquisition.
During a crisis, customers are looking to save money and the market is plummeting. However, as we’ve seen with COVID-19, online eCommerce stores such as Walmart have seen a 75% sales increase. Smart marketing techniques can help gain a competitive edge in no time. In this post, we are going to talk about why you should keep marketing and trust the process even when other businesses are pulling their money from the market. Let’s get started!
Here are the top reasons why you shouldn’t pull the plug of your digital marketing campaigns during a crisis. Let’s discuss them in detail.
1. Digital Advertising is Cheaper During Crisis
When a crisis hits the market, many businesses cut their marketing expenses assuming customers are not shopping. They pause their digital marketing campaigns across all channels and wait for things to normalize. When all major brands stop advertising online, the CPM drops dramatically.
If your business continues to push paid advertising during the crisis, you will have the advantage of reaching more people with the same budget.
But, why should you spend your marketing budget when people are not willing to spend their money and make purchases? Apart from the low cost of online advertising during the crisis, there are many other advantages to consider. Let’s talk about them.
2. Less Competition Equals More Online Impact
Since most companies will stop advertising online during a crisis, the competition for online space is bound to decrease. There will be fewer ads on people’s news feeds. This is a great opportunity to put the pedal to the metal and take maximum advantage of that space.
Your competitors are not just pausing their campaigns, they are also freeing up space for your message. It is a perfect time to restructure campaign strategies to optimize KPI’s. It is also a great chance for small businesses that have a limited advertising budget. It also gives them an opportunity to experiment and come up with high-performing online marketing campaigns.
3. Opportunity to Reposition Your Brand
Talking about experimenting, businesses have a great chance to come up with marketing campaigns that can help them reposition their brand. Advertising online during a weak economy gives you the opportunity to turn your brand into what you wanted it to become.
Brand positioning is important as it helps you attract the attention of your target audience. However, if your existing brand message is not converting potential customers then now is the time to reposition your brand.
With a drop in competitors during a market during a crisis, it gives you a more open space to test your new positioning. Many have used this time to position themselves as a solution to the problems their target audience are facing during the crisis. Also, use this to connect with customers on a personal level, and help a cause without thought of reward. By doing this, you’ll secure the attention of potential customers and boost your brand’s reputation with current customers.
This is a highly effective strategy that can help you grow your market share and stick in the minds of consumers. It can also help you revive your business if it has not been performing the way you wanted for quite some time.
4. Shows How Stable You are as a Business
It is really important to project an image of corporate stability during times of crisis. Brands that keep advertising during economic crises shows how strong it is in terms of its marketing abilities and also the ability to think long term.
Economic uncertainty doesn’t last forever. Brands that realize that the only way they can show market superiority during an economic slowdown is by doubling down on marketing often end up giving their consumers reasons to make the purchase.
Although most businesses notice a drop in revenue generation, these companies keep making a respectable profit. For investors, this is a sign of a company that by reliable people you know what they are doing.
5. Achieve Better Brand Recall Among Target Audience
Companies that continued digital advertising during COVID-19 are able to achieve a higher conversion rate because the target audience is at home consuming content online. This has given brands a huge opportunity to achieve better brand recall since companies that use positive and personal targeted advertising practices during economic crises are more likely to be remembered.
In times of crisis, consumers are often worried about the products they are using and often go with trusted brands as they find them safe and comfortable to use. Online advertising coupled width reassuring messages can help brands make a strong emotional connection with their audiences. Empathy-driven online marketing campaigns see a higher success rate than sales-driven marketing.
How Should You Handle Digital
Marketing During A Crisis?
When one claims that you shouldn’t stop advertising online during a crisis, one should immediately ask how they should run their marketing campaigns. Since the crisis started, it is important to properly allocate your campaign budget. First of all, you need to start making short-term goals for your campaigns. Things change quickly in a crisis. The government frequently comes out with new rules and you must pivot your services to fit those regulations. Adopt flexible marketing so that your efforts do not go to waste.
The copy you use across all your marketing campaigns during the crisis needs to be revised. The tone of your campaigns must be appropriate to connect with your target audience and the troubles they are facing. Don’t plan for experiential marketing events anytime soon, this is when technology and online experiences must be forefront in your marketing endeavors.
Your business should try different forms of content to see how it affects your overall marketing and branding. Never stop experimenting during an economic downturn.
We have shared several reasons why you shouldn’t stop marketing during a crisis. Marketing is not just about bringing in the leads. Yes, it definitely helps you keep your sales process on a roll, but connecting with your audience takes precedence when maintaining your brand identity. Marketing helps you convey the right message to your potential clients and build a personal connection. Have questions? Feel free to reach out and we’d love to give your business a free consultation!